Rationalize the Past, Live in the Present
by Red Witch
Summary: After 'The Letter' Zach and Doc discuss the consequences with Commander Walsh, as well as question the Commander's own past.


**Somewhere in the past is the disclaimer saying that I don't own any Galaxy Rangers characters. Just a drabble that came out of my head after writing 'The Letter'.**

**Rationalize The Past, Live in the Present**

"So that's that," Commander Walsh spoke as he looked at Captain Zachery Foxx and Walter 'Doc' Hartford. "As of now what happened on your mission is officially top secret. I don't want to hear any more about those Supertrooper Children you found. Especially when Gooseman and Niko return from Andor."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Doc asked.

"It's practical," Walsh growled at him. "The Board of Leaders is furious at all of you. Especially that those children are now outside Earth's jurisdiction. The only reason they're not going to come down on any of you is because Commander Cain spoke up for you. And he's only doing that so he can use it as leverage to get some kind of damn favor in the future. And you can bet it's not gonna be to borrow a cup of sugar."

"We're not the ones who set up an illegal Supertrooper breeding camp with stolen Supertrooper DNA," Zach pointed out.

"True but the truth never stopped those senators before," Walsh said. "Thank God the League Council has agreed to keep the kids existence a secret as well in order to protect them. Lord knows what a field day the media would have had!"

"I'd like to ask you something," Zach said. "And I want you to tell me the truth."

"It's about the hunts isn't it?" Walsh grunted. "I was wondering when you'd get to that. How much do you know?"

"Besides the fact that a few members of the Board of Leaders were betting on them like it was the dog track?" Doc remarked. "And Gooseman was forced to kill in order to survive?"

"The hunts were never supposed to be like that," Walsh told him. "Their original purpose was to give those put on the list a final chance to redeem themselves. Ironically the only one who survived was the one person who didn't deserve a chance."

"Kilbane," Doc nodded.

"I tried to put a stop to the gambling but many members of the Board that were part of the project found it…profitable," Walsh growled. "Eventually I was able to get enough support to stop the viewing of the hunts. Two months before the incident at Wolf Den."

"I know there were ten hunts total and that three of them happened before Gooseman could participate," Doc gave him an even look. "Just how many times did he…?"

"Four," Walsh admitted. "He became something of a favorite among the Board. I didn't put him in the hunt Kilbane was in. I didn't want to tempt fate."

"I'm going to take a guess and say that Max Sawyer wasn't a fan of those hunts now was he?" Doc asked.

"No. But that is beside the point," Walsh said. "As I have said before this subject is closed. I can understand Gooseman wanting some contact with the children as long as he is discreet but for the rest of you I don't want you having anything to do with those children if you can help it. Understand?"

"You're ordering us to forget them?" Zach shouted. "How can you **say** that?"

"Captain I learned a long time ago it doesn't do any good to get attached to Supertroopers," Walsh gave him a look. "Considering what they were bred for and we did end up having a high fatality rate in the end it seemed to be the only sensible policy."

"You got attached to Goose," Doc said simply.

"Yes I did," Walsh let out a breath and looked down. "He's the exception that proves the rule. He was always more…human than the others."

"They were all human," Zach said bitterly. "No matter how they were designed."

"You don't think I **know** that?" Walsh gave him a look. "I tried as hard as I could…God Zachery, Max and I bent over **backwards** to keep Supertroopers off the list as much as possible! I tried to keep things as clean and humane as possible but the fact was that I was training genetically enhanced mutants for combat! They were dangerous! Look at all the damage Kilbane alone has done and he's a complete **idiot!** We were just lucky that only a handful of Supertroopers escaped because if they all escaped I guarantee you that BETA would **not** be standing right now!"

"It still wasn't right," Zach said.

"Right or not times were very different then than they are now," Walsh said. "The Board of Leaders were extremely xenophobic about aliens until we made contact with Ambassadors Waldo and Zozo. Some of them still are! Like it or not Supertroopers were policy then. That was the way things were. For over a hundred and thirty years there have been experiments for genetically enhanced super soldiers."

"Slavery lasted a long time too, doesn't mean that was right," Doc said evenly. "That's basically what the Supertrooper Program was."

"No wonder the Board of Leaders gets so antsy about Goose," Zach growled.

"Still that's not something I haven't told myself a thousand times," Walsh sighed. "The only reason I accepted the appointment was because I was convinced I was the only one who could run it ethically."

"What about Cain?" Doc asked. "Was he passed over for it or…?"

"Cain was their first choice but he turned them down flat," Walsh admitted. "He claimed it was too time consuming and it would cut into his golf game."

"Maybe he had another reason?" Doc suggested. "He kept mentioning that he didn't like to see kids hurt."

"Cain is a psychotic loon but with no morals except one," Walsh said. "He never wants to see children get hurt. I don't know why, but that's his only scruple. As I said I took the position because I knew if they asked anyone else…Things would have been worse. A lot worse. Now if you gentlemen will excuse me I have some work to do."

Both Rangers got up and left the room. They said nothing until they were in a part of BETA they knew was secure. "Well that went well," Doc sighed. "I hate to say it but I understand Walsh's reasoning. The further out of sight those kids are from the Board of Leaders the safer they are."

"Of course…" Doc added with a twinkle in his eye. "If we simply don't **tell** Walsh if we make any contact with those kids it will make his job and ours a lot easier."

"Hmmm…" Zach grunted.

"Captain?" Doc tilted his head. "Let me guess this whole thing still has you bugged don't it?"

"Yeah. I thought I knew Commander Walsh but now…" Zach sighed.

"We have all done things during battle or war we wish we could take back," Doc told him. "Things that seemed perfectly valid at the time but on further reflection we wonder what we did was right. We can't change that. All we can do is learn from the past and try to make things better for the future. That's why Commander Walsh stresses BETA's primary objective to preserve all life so strongly. The guilt he feels over what happened must be immense."

"The sad thing is Goose blames himself for something he had no control over," Zach shook his head. "He was nothing but a pawn up to and including the day Wolf Den collapsed."

"Goose thinks that he was somehow part of the reason the whole incident happened," Doc thought. "At first I thought it was just his guilt talking now…"

"What? You actually **believe** that?" Zach asked.

"Well if these hunts produced a lot of money, and I have no doubt that they did…" Doc rationalized. "Maybe some senator got tired of losing and decided to take out a favored player? But unfortunately Wheiner took out more than he intended to."

"Are you saying the whole Wolf Den incident could have been about money?" Zach was stunned. "Betting money?"

"Wouldn't be the first time things like this happened," Doc shrugged. "You know those reports we get on illegal animal and alien fights. Stuff like that happens all the time so that people can either make money or got ticked off at losing money. It's a valid possibly."

"You think someone somewhere might have a record of all the betting transactions?" Zach thought of an idea.

"If there is still a list in existence, I'll find it," Doc nodded.

"There is one thing I will say Doc," Zach's eyes grew hard. "Now I have even more reason to help Shane put those bastards responsible for Wolf Den behind bars where they belong."

"Amen to that brother," Doc agreed. "Amen to that."


End file.
